Hannah Whitten: Wilderwood series + Q&A
Author photo by Caleb Whitten
The first daughter is for the Throne. The second daughter is for the Wolf. And the Wolves are for the Wilderwood…
For fans of Uprooted by Naomi Novik and The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden comes a dark, sweeping fantasy series about a young woman who must be sacrificed to the legendary Wolf of the Wood to save her kingdom. But not all legends are true, and the Wolf isn’t the only danger lurking in the Wilderwood…
“For The Wolf definitely has a dark fairytale like plot with inspirations from Red Riding Hood and Beauty and the Beast. however it is done with a unique and original touch that gives this book a fresh feel while still maintaining the fairytale atmosphere.”—KB Book Reviews
Hannah Whitten has been writing to amuse herself since she could hold a pen, and sometime in high school, she figured out that what amused her might also amuse others. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, making music, or attempting to bake.
Scroll down for the books in the series, and to see some questions and answers from author interviews.
Wilderwood series
For the Wolf (The Wilderwood #1)
Not all legends are true, and the Wolf isn’t the only danger lurking in the Wilderwood…
As the only Second Daughter born in centuries, Red has one purpose—to be sacrificed to the Wolf in the Wood in the hope he’ll return the world’s captured gods.
Red is almost relieved to go. Plagued by a dangerous power she can’t control, at least she knows that in the Wilderwood, she can’t hurt those she loves. Again.
But the legends lie. The Wolf is a man, not a monster. Her magic is a calling, not a curse. And if she doesn’t learn how to use it, the monsters the gods have become will swallow the Wilderwood—and her world—whole.
“Whitten weaves a captivating tale in this debut, in which even secondary characters come to feel like old friends. An un-put-down-able fairy tale that traces the boundaries of duty, love, and loss.”—Kirkus
“A brilliant dark fantasy debut!”—Jodi Picoult, NYT bestselling author
For the Throne (The Wilderwood #2)
Red’s sister Neve struggles to escape a mysterious land of twisted roots, lost gods, and mountains made of bone—and the only clues to her rescue are a magic mirror and a dark prince who wants to bring the whole thing crumbling down.
Red and the Wolf have finally contained the threat of the Old Kings but at a steep cost. Red's beloved sister Neve, the First Daughter is lost in the Shadowlands, an inverted kingdom where the vicious gods of legend have been trapped for centuries and the Old Kings have slowly been gaining control. But Neve has an ally, though it's one she'd rather never have to speak to again: the rogue king Solmir.
Solmir wants to bring an end to the Shadowlands and he believes helping Neve may be the key to its destruction. But to do that, they will both have to journey across a dangerous landscape in order to find a mysterious Heart Tree, and finally to claim the gods' dark, twisted powers for themselves.
“For the Throne is the perfect second installment of the Wilderwood duology. Where For the Wolf both sets up the conflict and world and primarily follows Red and Eammon, while foreshadowing Neve’s role, this book shifts the dynamic, with Neve in a more central role, and Red as a supporting role. It’s the perfect compromise of keeping the previous leads relevant, while also giving the star of the book her time to shine.”—Courtney Reads Romance
Hannah Whitten Q&A
Q: What was your favorite part of the story to develop?
“My obvious answer is the romance, because that is what I live for, but my less obvious one is the magic system. It was the hardest thing for me to get nailed down, but we ended up with something I really love that’s not only #aesthetic but also really thematically resonant!”—In Which Hannah F. Whitten Answers Some Q’s (In the Land of Pages)
Q: A central part of For the Wolf is the romance that develops between Red and the Wolf—who’s a man and not the monster he’s been made out to be. What elements do you think make up the best love stories?
“My favorite love stories are the ones where the people falling for each other are in difficult to understand positions, where they think they’re all alone, and someone comes along who does understand. Seeing someone realize they don’t have to be alone—that someone else is lonely in the same way they are—always gets me.”—Q&A: Hannah Whitten, Author of ‘For The Wolf’ (The Nerd Daily)
Q: What inspired you to write For the Wolf? What appeals to you about writing fantasy?
“I’ve always read and written fantasy mostly for an escape, but with Wolf, I knew I wanted to twist around a bunch of fairytales that have ham-fisted messages about ‘purity’ and make them about choice and consent and agency instead.”—Interview with Hannah Whitten, author of For the Wolf (The Qwillery)
Q: I know a lot of readers have compared For the Wolf to Little Red Riding Hood and the Beauty and the Beast. You’ve also commented on how you took elements from classic fairy tales to twist For the Wolf into its own folklore, you called it a melting story. Were there any other fairy tales that inspired For the Wolf?
“The other tale I pulled from most obviously is Snow White—Neve’s name was actually Snow in earlier drafts. I drew a lot of inspiration from other more archetypal, less solidly plotted fairytale ideas, too, like Green Man mythology and Death and the Maiden. There’s also some shades of Bluebeard in there!”—Date with a Debut Author: Hannah Whitten (Bookstr)
